Improved paddle-wheel



UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

EDGAR HAIGHT, OF BUFFALO, NE\V YORK.

IMPROVED PADDLE-WHEEL.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 26,984, dated January31, 1860.

To all whom it may oon/cern:

Be it known that I, EDGAR HAIGHT, of Buffalo, in the county of Erie andState of New York, have invented a new and Improved Paddle-Wheel; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and eXactdescription of the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, forming a part of this specification, in Which- Figure lrepresents a vertical section of my invention, taken transverselythrough the shaft in a plane indicated by the line y y, Fig. 2, andlooking in the direction of the arrow marked opposite to that line. Fig.2 is a section of the same in a plane parallel to the shaftandrepresented by the line @c at in Fig. l.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

The principal objection to paddle-wheels with feathering-bucketsheretofore has been that the buckets are very apt to become loose, thesame being usually fastened only on one point, either in the center orat the end, or that said buckets, if properly fastened, create so muchfriction that the propelling power gai ned by the motion of the bucketsis lost again by the increased power required to turn the wheels. Inorder to make a feathering paddle-'wheel effective and practicable, itis necessary that each bucket should be supported at both ends as soonas it descends into the water, and their feathering motion should beattended with as little friction as possible. Vith this object in View Ihave constructed my wheel with two rings, which are placed outside ofthe regular wheel, and which revolve on trunnions that are secured tothe frame-Work with their centers at a certain distance above the centerof the shaft. The buckets are suspended from pins which are secured tothe rims of the wheel and which pass through loops on their edges, andthey are guarded and steadied by rods that are fastened in the rings andWhich ,pass through suitable guides attached to the buckets. The ringsare connected to the wheel by links or in any other suitable manner topreserve their respective position toward the Wheel during the entirerevolution, and the buckets are so arranged that they strike the wateralways with their fast edges in advance in whatever direction the wheelrevolves.

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

The wheel is constructed of two rims A A', supported by suitable arms Band secured to the shaft C bymeans of set-screws a. These rims areconnected by pins b, from which the buckets D, DI, Du, Dm, DIV, and Dvare suspended, as clearly represented in Fig. l, the outer edge of eachbucket being coiled or provided with loops to fit to the pins b.

As the shaft O leaves the Wheel on `each side it passes throughtrunnions E E', which are firmly secured to the frame-work whichsupports the journal-bcxes of the shaft. The centers of the trunnions EE are in a line drawn vertically through the center of the shaft and ata certain distance from the latter. Said trunnions serve for bearings tothe rings F F', which revolve freely on the same and which are connectedwith the Wheel by links c, that are pivoted to the hubs of the rings andto the hubs of the wheel, as clearly represented in the drawings. Thelength of these links has to correspond to the distance of the centersof the trunnions from the center of the shaft, and the diameter of therings F F ought to be such that rods d, which are fastened onisaid ringsand near to their outer circumference, move freely inside the rims A Aof the wheels.

The number of the rods d, which connect the rings F F', corresponds tothe number of buckets, and they pass through guides e, which are secured.tothe buckets. Instead of these guides, however, the-rods d might beslotted, so as to admit the buckets and form guides for the same; but Iprefer to use the guides e, as represented in the drawings, iu order topreserve the full strength of the rods d.

In order to keep the rings F F from run ning olf of the trunnions E E',small recessesV are turned into their hubs to receive plates f, whichare secured to the trunnions by means of screws g, as clearly shown inFig. 2. I do not confine myself, however, to this particular V mode ofretaining the rings, as there are various means for accomplishing thesame 0bject.

The operation is as follows:` Then the wheel, together with the rings,Ais rotated, the

position of a certain point on the rings in relation to a certain pointin the rims of the wheel changes, so that these two points are situatedtwice in the vertical line drawn through the center 'of the Wheel, andin one of these cases the point on the Wheel is below and in the otherabove the point on the rings. During the rest of the revolution thepoint on the wheel is sometimesin advance, and sometimes behind thepoint on the rings, and the distance of these two points varies, theirdistance being in its maximum as they pass the vertical line below thecenter and in its minimum as they pass the vertical line above thecenter of the shaft. The amount of variation is equal to the doubledistance ot' the center ofthe shaft from the centersof the trunnions EE. This will be fully understood by following the motion of one of thepins b and the corresponding one of the rods d. Commencing at theposition of the bucket D and moving'the wheel in the direction of thearrow marked on the same the pin b will reach itslargest distancefromthe roddas the bucket passes through the vertical line drawn through thecenter of the shaft, and at the same time the bucket stands in avertical position, being supported on both ends. As the bucket comesinto the position DI the pin b begins to approach the rod d and the rodd isslightly in advance of the pin b, and as the bucket leaves the waterit is in a tangential position, so that it takes up no backwater. Thepin l) approaches now the rod d still farther, as will be noticed, byfollowing the motion of the bucket to theposition DH, and by the time itreaches the position DIII the bucket isV nearly in a horizontalposition, so that it passes through t-he air with but little resistance,the

' pin b still being behind the rod (l. By the time the bucket passesthrough the vertical line above the center the pin b takes its p0-sition just above the rod d and quite close to the same, and the bucketis brought in a ver# tical position. As the revolution continues thedistance between the pin b and the rodd begins to increase, the formerbeing now in advance of the latter, and by the time the bucket reachesthe water the rod d takes up its position at or near to the out-er edgeof the bucket, supporting the same nearly with the same effect andIirmness as if it was permanently'secured on both ends.

Itwill be noticed that each bucket as it4 .shaft is rotated, so that itis equally effective in backing as in Vpropelling a vessel. From this itwill be understood that the depth of the buckets must be twice as largeas the distance ot` the centers of the trunnions E E from the center ofthe shaft, and I have found from experience that the best proportionbetween the diameter of the wheel and that of the rings is about as nineto seven and onefourth.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The arrangement of the rings F` F', rods d, and trunnions E E', ortheir equivalents, in combination with the buckets D, pins b, and guidese, or their equivalents, constructed and operating substantially as andfor the purpose described.

2. Giving to the buckets a complete revolution around the pins b, fromwhichthey are suspended, substantially as specified, so that they strikethe water with the fast edge in advance in whatever direction thewheel're-` volves.

3. The employment of the links c, substantially as described, for thepurpose of connecting the rings F F with the rims A A of the wheel.

EDGAR I-IAIGHT.

Witnesses;

B. GNoURL, J. F. BUCKLEY.

